bad credit, credit cards

Many people make mistakes that affect their credit almost every day. You can’t make a payment on time so now that late payment gets reported to the Credit Bureau. The Credit Bureau reports that late payment and now your credit is severely damaged. What if this is a mistake, can it be corrected?

If the mistake is your mistake and you did not make the payment on time, then you will have to live with that mistake. You can speak with the Creditor and find out if they are willing to re-age the account for you. If they do that you will have to make a specified number of payments on time. If you complete the arrangement successfully they will change your history to show all payments being made on time.

Now if your creditor made a mistake and reported a late payment, then you should speak with your creditor and dispute it with the Credit Bureaus. If you are positive that your payment was made on time then by disputing it the Credit Bureau will contact your creditor and verify the information.

Now if you payment is due on the 15th of the month, you certainly do now want to put that payment in the mail on the 10th or 11th and expect that it will be there on time. You want to allow 7-10 days minimum for anything that you are putting in the mail. If you can setup an automatic deduction a few days prior to the due date then you won’t have to worry about any late payments. If you have online banking then you can setup the payment to go when you want it to. This can also save you from having any late payments.

Late payments are part of your credit report and make up 35% of your credit score. This is the most important part of your credit history report. By making sure that your payments are made on time each and every month you will keep your credit score moving upward. Keeping your payments on time even if you have to make a minimum payment so that it remains on time is fine. I have found people who had to make a minimum payment so that the payment arrived on time and then sent a payment later to help them reduce their debt. This keeps your credit score from being damaged by making a late payment.

By making your payments on time each and every month you will keep your credit score moving upward. Don’t make this mistake and dispute any mistakes that get reported to the Credit Bureau. Good credit is important in today’s economy and keeping from anything getting reported negatively is critical to good credit.

About the Author:

Mel Jensen is a retired Customer Service Manager with Ovation Credit Services.